Criminology Course Descriptions

CRIM 1301 (CRIM 1301) Introduction to Criminal Justice (3 semester hours) An overview and analysis of the major agencies, personnel, and decision-making points which comprise the criminal justice system. Includes problems and issues confronting legislatures, police, courts, corrections, and the community, as they respond to crime in a free society. Legal precedents guiding the decisions of criminal justice agents are also discussed. (3-0) Y

CRIM 1307 (CRIM 1307) Introduction to Crime and Criminology (3 semester hours) Survey of the nature, location, and impact of crime in America. Includes historical foundations of crime, theoretical explanations of criminality and delinquency, the recording and measurement of crime, descriptions of criminal careers, crime topologies, and an analysis of public policies concerning crime control. (3-0) Y

CRIM 3300 Crime and Civil Liberties (3 semester hours) Examines the various components / agencies of the criminal justice "system." The functions of the police, courts, prosecution, and corrections are analyzed within a context in which constitutional rights and civil liberties affect the functioning of the criminal justice system. Major emphasis is placed on the extent to which civil liberties and procedural rights constrain or limit the system’s effectiveness in delivering crime control, while at the same time ensuring "justice." (3-0) T

CRIM 3302 Advanced Criminology (3 semester hours) This course provides students with an in-depth study of crime, criminals, and the reaction of the criminal justice system to both. It explores the interrelationships among law, policy, and societal conditions. The major focus of the course is theoretical explanations for crime and criminality. Prerequisite: CRIM 1307. (3-0) Y

CRIM 3303 Advanced Criminal Justice (3 semester hours) Analyzes the major agencies, personnel, and decision-making points which comprise the criminal justice system. Explores some of the major theories and research about the roles that the various agencies and actors play in the criminal justice system. Includes discussion of the problems and current issues confronting legislatures, police, courts, corrections, and the community, as they respond to crime. Prerequisite: CRIM 1301. (3-0) Y

CRIM 3304 Research Methods in Crime and Justice Studies (3 semester hours) Examines methods of crime and justice research. Topics include the nature of scientific inquiry, framing a research problem, choosing a research design, developing hypotheses, sampling designs, and measuring variables. Topics will be covered as students conduct their own study. Should be taken before SOCS 3305 or STAT 1342. (3-0) Y

CRIM 3307 Immigration and Crime (3 semester hours) The course emphasizes the practices and policies of law enforcement’s efforts to control illegal immigration, including the relationship between illegal immigration and counterterrorism, as well as victimization experienced by immigrants. (3-0) R

CRIM 2308 Juvenile Law (3 semester hours) This course examines the statutory bases which distinguish delinquency from adult crime and the juvenile justice system from the criminal justice systems. Emphasis is placed on the rationale for treating juveniles accused of crime differently than their adult counterparts. (3-0) R

CRIM 3309 Media and Crime (3 semester hours) Examines the media’s image of crime and the criminal justice system. An emphasis is placed on how various types of media construct or perceives criminal activities, how the media influences public policy, and shapes perceptions of crime as a social problem. Topics include crime news, films and television dramas depicting crime and criminals, the media as a cause, consequence and cure for crime and "news making" criminology. (3-0) R

CRIM 3310 Youth Crime and Justice (3 semester hours) Examines the concept of juvenile delinquency as a distinct type of criminal activity from that committed by adults and assesses the distinct juvenile justice system that has evolved to handle children. Topics will include the historical roots of delinquency and the juvenile justice system, delinquency measurement, explanations of delinquency, and the socio-demographic correlates of delinquency status. (Same as SOC 3362) (3-0) R

CRIM 3312 Drugs and Crime (3 semester hours) Provides students with a survey of legislation that has been attempted to combat the use of drugs, the relationship between drug use/abuse and crime, and the public policy problem surrounding the control of drugs. Topics include a historical analysis of the laws passed to control drugs, the relationship between drugs and crime, and a policy analysis of the alternative means available to deal with the drugs crime problem. (3-0) R

CRIM 2313 Police and Society (3 semester hours) This course examines the central issues of enforcing law and promoting public safety in society with emphasis placed on both internal organizational issues of police administration and external enforcement operations. (3-0) R

CRIM 2316 Corrections (3 semester hours) This course will provide an introduction to the history and background of American corrections and the fundamental theories of punishment and treatment. Emphasis will be placed on the policies, practices, and issues within the correctional system. The incarceration of criminal populations in jails and prisons, and the expansion of community-based corrections. (3-0) R

CRIM 2317 Criminal Prosecution and Court Process (3 semester hours) This course examines the processes and politics of bringing criminal defendants to trial. Topics also include decision making points and the constitutional system of criminal due process under which criminal law is practiced. (3-0) R

CRIM 3319 Comparative Justice Systems (3 semester hours) Survey of the differing policies, practices, and procedures of crime and justice cross nationally. Special emphasis will be devoted to U.S. / Mexico comparisons, while additional emphasis will be placed on such comparisons as U.S. / Canada and U.S. / England. (3-0) R

CRIM 3320 Homicide and Capital Punishment (3 semester hours) Examines the policy and legal controversies surrounding the application of capital punishment (i.e., the death penalty) as a punishment for homicide. Topics include: capital punishment through history, U.S. Supreme Court decisions and contemporary problems with the application of the death penalty. The course will also analyze the nature, extent, and distribution of criminal homicide. (3-0). T

CRIM 3322 Crime Prevention (3 semester hours) Examines the situational, social, and legislative approaches to the prevention of crime and delinquency. The emphasis is on the theories of victimization and the extent to which victim demographics play a role in crime, and the implementation and consequences of various crime prevention policies and approaches and their differential effects on victims throughout various sectors of society. (3-0) R

CRIM 3323 Violence and Gun Control (3 semester hours) The primary purpose of this course is the examination of facts surrounding one of the most heated issues of our times: the relationship between guns, violence and gun control. The course provides a comprehensive criminological view of the topic rather than a political or legal one. Students will learn about evaluating evidence, the "stricter gun law" debate, flaws in arguments on both sides of issue as well as tricks used by advocates to persuade people to agree with their point of view. (3-0) R

CRIM 3324 Gender, Crime, and Justice (3 semester hours) Analysis of the role of gender in crime and in the justice system. The emphasis is on gender differences in the commission of crime and the types of crimes committed, criminal justice processing, and the employment of women in criminal justice professions. (3-0) T

CRIM 3325 Victimology (3 semester hours) Analyzes the major perspectives on victimization. The emphasis is on patterns of victimization, the role of victims in the generation of crime, and the experience of victims in the criminal justice system. Special attention will be devoted to: sources of data - particularly the National Crime Victimization Survey, trends, variations by demography and offense type and ways in which those variations may affect how criminal justice officials respond to particular types of offenses. (3-0) R

CRIM 3326 Victimless Crimes (3 semester hours) Examines public order crimes, which includes a variety of behaviors that are illegal yet generally perceived by those engaging in them to be legitimate, justified, and acceptable. Many such offenses are illegal only because the government has said so, especially public order violations where there may be no identifiable victim. The objective of this course is to develop an understanding of the complexities and controversies that swirl around these offenses. Prerequisite: CRIM 1301 or CRIM 1307. (3-0) R

CRIM 4305 Social Control and Criminal Sanctions (3 semester hours) Examines various means by which society attempts to control the deviant and criminal conduct of its members. Social control encompasses both formal criminal sanctions and informal mechanisms and a variety of institutions and social processes that are designed to deter inappropriate conduct if possible and/or punish and reform such conduct when it does occur. Moreover, social control has evolved considerably over time and various social control philosophies and techniques have been prevalent in one time frame but not in others. Prerequisites: CRIM 3302 or CRIM 3303. (Same as SOC 3332) (3-0) S

CRIM 4311 Crime and Justice Policy (3 semester hours) In-depth analysis of crime and the efforts to control crime through public policy. Although crime is most often committed by private persons against individual victims, crime is a public problem and society’s reaction to crime and criminals is one of the most controversial areas of public policy. Crime control, deterrence and incapacitation, gun control, law enforcement, and court processes are just a few of the areas in which public opinion and policy are in current controversy and debate. Prerequisites: CRIM 3302 or CRIM 3303. (Same as SOC 3361) (3-0) R

CRIM 4314 Current Issues in Policing (3 semester hours) Examines issues related to the accountability of the police to the electorate through the political process. Focuses on the governmental setting for police work, policies and practices, and current political issues in municipal, state, and federal police agencies. Prerequisites: CRIM 3303 and CRIM 3313. (3-0) R

CRIM 4316 Advanced Issues in Corrections (3 semester hours) The course examines selected contemporary issues and topics in the correctional system. Significant emphasis is placed on the extent to which theory and research contribute to understanding current correctional system policies, practices, and problems. Prerequisites: CRIM 3303 and CRIM 3316. (3-0) Y

CRIM 4322 Senior Research Seminar (3 semester hours) Major concepts and principles of Criminology will be applied to the analysis of crime. Capstone required course for senior Criminology majors. Prerequisites: Completion of all, or concurrent enrollment in, major requirements. T

CRIM 4323 Communities and Crime (3 semester hours) Analyzes the sources, consequences, and control of crime within communities. The emphasis is on social and ecological theories of crime, and on population instability, family structure, and the concentration of poverty as causes of crime. Community crime prevention efforts are also discussed. Prerequisite: CRIM 3302. (3-0) T

CRIM 4331 GIS Applications in Criminology (3 semester hours) Examines spatial distributions of crime, criminals, and criminal justice. Students prepare maps and learn techniques for spatial analysis of point patterns and area-based data. They apply software programs such as Arcview, SpaceStat, and CrimeStat, to analyze the locations of crime events and rates, offenders, police patrolling practices, judicial districts and community correctionsand how these relate to physical and social characteristics of neighborhoods. Prerequisites: CRIM 3302, CRIM 3304, and SOCS 3305. (3-0)R

CRIM 4V98 Internship in Criminology (1-6 semester hours) May be repeated for credit (6 hours maximum). Consent of instructor required. This course can only be takenCredit/No Credit. ([1-6]-0) S

CRIM 4V99 Senior Honors in Criminology (1-6 semester hours) For students conducting independent research for honors theses or projects. May be repeated for credit (6 hours maximum). ([1-6]-0) S

*Transfer students with credit earned in courses marked with an asterisk will be given equivalent UT Dallas as applied to Criminology Major Preparatory Courses. Similar advanced courses will be recommended for transfer students and current UT Dallas students without the Criminology Major Preparatory component complete.